


Somebody's Watching Me

by Nefertiti1052 (Succubusphan)



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Clumsy Phil Lester, Death is only the beginning, Dorks in Love, Fluff and Humor, Happy Ending, M/M, bants and shenanigans, non religious consideration of heaven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-12-30 08:22:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18311834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Succubusphan/pseuds/Nefertiti1052
Summary: Dan is non too happy about waking up in heaven. Being informed that he will have to wait for his soulmate for decades because he managed to die before it was time, he decides to pay his man a visit. Shenanigans ensue.





	Somebody's Watching Me

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Shuffle Phandomficfest. Thank you @shippingfangirl26 for helping me as always. Based on the song somebody's Watching Me by Rockwell.

 

Dan woke up slowly but didn’t open his eyes. He was not ready to face the world yet, so he rolled over on his fluffy bed and sighed, feeling more relaxed than he had felt in a long time.

 

He couldn’t remember what day it was, so he regretfully peaked to his bedside table searching for his cellphone but all he saw was a blinding clarity. He opened his eyes and blinked repeatedly trying to adjust his sight.

 

Clouds, clouds as far as the eyes could reach was all he found. He gasped but tried not to panic considering he must still be dreaming.

 

He carefully stood and walked only a few minutes before a golden gate appeared before his eyes just like a mirage. He tried to push it open but it wouldn’t budge.

 

“Excuse me,” a man dressed in all white said in a reproachful tone as his left eyebrow rose and his lips pursed.

 

“Oh, hi. Can you help me?” Dan asked.

 

“You shouldn’t be here. What’s your name human?”

 

‘Rude,’ Dan thought. Of course, even people in his dreams would treat him like that. “Daniel Howell.”

 

The man rolled his eyes and materialized a roll of parchment so long it dropped to the floor. “Howell, Howell…. That’s fairly common. Country?”

 

“Um, Britain?” This was one of the most boring dreams he had ever had. He couldn’t remember what he did before going to bed to trigger such a bureaucratic yet empty dream.

 

“Hmm. Daniel f 65, Daniel J 27, Daniel m 36…”

 

“Daniel James… why am I here?”

 

“Daniel James Howell, 27?”

 

“Yes?”

 

The man finally lifted his eyes from the parchment and looked at him wide eyed. “Born on June 11th of 1992? From Wokingham? Mother Karen?”

 

“Yes! What’s going on? I swear this is the most boring dream I’ve ever had. By far!”

 

“Ummmm. You are not supposed to be here.”

 

“You already said that! And where is _here_ exactly?”

 

“Heaven. It wasn’t your time yet.”

 

“That’s funny, I’m an atheist,” he snorted.

 

“Oh. Well, Daniel, you see, that’s not important. Religion is a human invention, it gives them comfort to believe in something; some choose a superior being, some choose science, some choose _celebrities_ for some reason. This is where you come when you haven’t been an absolutely horrible person or done something extremely bad, like kill someone.”

 

“Interesting. What about the homophobes and the racists that keep going to church and praying?”

 

“Oh, they all go to hell, obviously. We just keep the people associated by how they behaved on earth; the good come here, the bad don’t.”

 

“Amazing! So how do I open the door?” Dan asked pointing at the gate just in case he wasn’t being clear enough.

 

“It will open when it’s your time to cross over. So…” The man stared at his wristwatch, “Not for another 57 years.”

 

Dan snorted. “Well, I’m glad dreams only last a few seconds, Wouldn’t want to wait around for 57 years.”

 

“You keep saying that, Daniel. You are not dreaming. I am not sure how you managed to die before your time but you did. This has never happened before. Usually, soulmates die within days of each other and can cross over together.”

 

“Of course, of course. Very interesting. So where’s my soulmate?”

 

“He is alive and he will be for another 57 years.”

 

“But time should pass quickly for me right, If I’m already dead?”

 

“Trust me, you are. And no, you are connected to him so you will experience time as he does on earth.”

 

“If this is not a dream and I really have to wait for 57 years I will be pissed. I will end up killing someone around here and go straight to hell.”

 

“Straight? But your profile says you are gay, hmm,” The man said seriously.

 

“Are you taking the piss?”

 

“I would never,” the man said but his lips trembled just a bit as if he was containing laughter.

 

“So, who are you?

 

“Gabriel. You used my name without permission to play games. I didn’t appreciate that.”

 

“I’m sure there are thousands of Gabriels in the world, don’t get so upset over it.”

 

“But that’s their name, you just created an identity. And I’m not upset,” Gabriel sighed. “I better get you a chair, we are going to be here together a long time.”

 

“Will time pass slowly for you too?”

 

“It usually doesn’t but I am sure that having you here for decades will drive me insane nonetheless.”

 

“That’s not nice. What kind of an Angel are you?”

 

“A very honest one. Now be quiet and take a sit.”

 

“What do I do If I get bored? Can I haunt people on earth?”

 

“No, but you can watch them. I wouldn’t recommend that. You will see them live and go on without you, and some will age and die soon.”

 

“So not my family then. What about my soulmate? What can you tell me about him?”

 

“His name is Philip Michael Lester, Born on January 30th of 1987. Loving man all around, very close to his family, he is currently 32 and single. He feels quite lonely because he hasn’t been able to find his soulmate yet.”

 

“Do you know how we were supposed to meet?”

 

“There were several different circumstances that could lead to your meeting if you would’ve made the right choices. You leaving Manchester in 2011 pushed that back and him not taking that flat in London five blocks away from yours pushed it back again. If you… let’s see, if you would have kept swiping on tinder you would have matched with him… in two months.”

 

“How romantic!” Dan said rolling his eyes. “I’ve always had a rotten luck. Well, I guess I better pay him a visit, it’s not like I have anything else to do here.”

 

“Ok, I can show you the way. I am a bit surprised that you are taking this so well. Many people cry when they realized they have died.”

 

“Oh, well I know this is a dream,” he said waving his hand dismissively, “So I’m just humouring you until I wake up.”

 

“You are still in denial, I see. Well, follow me, Daniel. Remember the path, I don’t want to be coming to get you if you want to come back when you get bored.”

 

“Wouldn’t dream of wasting your time like that Gabriel.”

 

\------

 

Phil woke up in an unusually good mood but he didn’t know why. He had dreamt about meeting his soulmate and this time he hadn’t felt hopeless. He was sure their first encounter must be getting closer. He decided to take a quick shower before his coffee, but not without some music.

 

He set his Bluetooth speaker and connected it to his phone before hopping into the hot stream.

 

Phil danced to Rockwell’s ‘Somebody’s Watching Me’ as he scrubbed his body. The vapour was filling the bathroom quickly, making him feel like he was in the spooky music video.

 

As he rinsed the shampoo off his hair he felt a sudden chilling sensation, almost like a drift, and he shivered. He opened his eyes and yelped as he felt his feet disappear from beneath him, making him fall to the ground with a thud. He could have sworn there was someone in the shower with him. He had barely gotten a flash, brown eyes, and curly hair.

 

He looked around and slowly moved the shower curtain to check that he was alone. There was no one around, the door was still closed, everything seemed normal. His mind must have been playing tricks on him. He stayed on the shower floor for a minute trying to figure out if he had broken any bones and he was just in shock, but apparently, he had escaped the incident with only a few bumps.

 

He briefly considered what his fate would have been if his head had landed just a few inches to the left. What a humiliating way to die. Someone would try to contact him for a few days before the police would break in and find him dead, the shower still running. Ugh.

 

He decided to get a shower mat to avoid having such a horrible death.  

 

\-----

 

Ever since that day, Phil had the irking feeling that someone was watching him, _constantly_.

 

He checked his entire house every morning, every time he came home from work and every night before going to bed.

 

Sometimes his tv would change channels on its own or he would find it playing an F1 race. At times, new music would appear on his Spotify, but he wasn’t complaining of that one; he didn’t care for F1 but he did end up liking Brockhampton.

 

After a few weeks, Phil was absolutely sure that his flat was haunted. That didn’t explain why the feeling of being watched would not abandon him at any time, even if he went out.

 

On three occasions he had almost died because of things moving out of their place or malfunctioning. First, a tennis ball on the stairs had resulted in a nasty fall and several bruises. A week later, the burner of the stove blowing off but the gas still going had merely scared him considering he was right there when it happened and just turned it off. And yesterday, a candle he was sure he had put out before going to sleep set the curtains on fire while he slept causing the fire extinguishers to go off and wake him up absolutely soaked.

 

He knew he should be scared but honestly, he was just annoyed. He was clumsy enough to accidentally kill himself at any point, he didn’t need someone to help him in that department.

 

He made sure to complain about it as he got some bedding from the closet and went to sleep on the couch.

 

Whoever was haunting him was at least reasonable. After Phil made it clear that he had no intention of dying any time soon, the “accidents” stopped.

 

One day, as he tapped distractedly on his phone, he put his foot down to cross the street but immediately felt someone grab the hood of his jacket and pulled him back with an impressive amount of force just in time to save Phil from walking right in front of a truck. He had landed ass first on the sidewalk but still, he got shakily up to his feet and turned around to thank the person but there was nobody there.

 

He didn’t know what to think anymore, so he started writing down all the information he could remember about the strange happenings in his recent life to be able to do some research.

 

The strangest part of it all was his dreams. They felt familiar but they always turned their focus from the usual shenanigans to a recurring character. Phil wasn’t complaining at all, the man was an absolute beauty. He had brown curly hair, brown eyes and dimples. He often seemed sad, but on occasions, he would smile at Phil and his right dimple would combine with two moles and form a tiny sad face on his cheek. Phil couldn’t help but think that was adorable.

 

Sometimes, the man would try to approach Phil but he would get stuck behind a door that had just appeared out of nowhere, or fall into a hole, sort of like a glitching video game or a cartoon.

 

Phil felt a sense of familiarity for the man, he wondered if it was someone he knew from somewhere and he remembered only on a subconscious level.

 

With all the information put neatly on a list, separated by categories, Phil sat down with a large mug of coffee and decided to google his way out of this predicament.

 

Everything seemed to indicate it could be a ghost, but not everything fit with the descriptions given by other superstitious people on a variety of forums.

 

He felt his stomach twist as he went into one of the many Soulmates Forums he was familiar with. He had already searched up and down for over two years about how to speed up the process of finding one’s soul mate. He had been devastated to know that some people died without finding them, but theories indicated that if one of them died, the other would soon join them.

 

Phil really loved being alive, he was overall happy, but he did feel like something was missing - like he needed another piece to complete the puzzle. A few years ago he had considered the idea of not having a soul mate or them constantly failing to meet until one of them died.

 

He gasped as he found a new clue in his research.

 

_I made it guys, I really did meet him. There was this guy constantly bugging me in my dreams, trying to sell me ice cream, offering to cook for me, or even running into me at Tesco. It turns out ‘annoying guy’ was my soulmate, he was so frustrated about not being able to find me that he somehow manifested into my dreams as a character. He said find me at Tesco and I went there even though it’s not that close to my house. I found him by the ice cream. I will tell a much romantic story to my children, but I thought you should know. Don’t lose hope. X, Katie._

 

Phil posted his story in the forum and received many contradictory answers. He felt a little lost until he got a private message from Katie. She said that he should try to manipulate his dream and let the man come to him. He hadn’t actually considered he was the one keeping him away. Maybe this would finally lead him in the right direction.

 

\-----

 

Dan mused as he waited for his man outside the shower. After he had nearly killed him getting in with him the first time, he had decided that that was not the best of ideas. He’d felt a bit ashamed of himself when he realized his dead yet horny brain had not considered that watching Phil in the shower was wrong.

 

It had been only two months, so 56 years and 10 months to go - give or take a few days. He was considering going back and spend the rest of his time with Gabriel, but he found that he couldn’t stay away from Phil. It was like a pull, a constant sensation when they were in the same room that made him feel less alone and more at peace.

 

After the first week, he had decided that laying next to Phil as he slept was ok as long as he didn’t try to touch him. It had soothed his soul as the daunting sensation that this was not a dream got stronger. Nothing happened in the first couple of nights until Phil had extended his hand in his sleep towards Dan and he had timidly touched it, being transported into the dream immediately.

 

He had soon figured out that Phil could actually see him in his dreams but Dan had never gotten a chance to talk to him without something getting in his way. He had thought that it was Gabriel trying to keep him in check, but he eventually realized that it had actually been Phil pushing him away and that hurt him more than he was willing to admit.

 

Dan knew he shouldn’t take it personally. Phil didn’t even know who he was. He had found solace in the fact that Phil had reached towards him every night, and even if Dan didn’t move, Phil would always find him and pull him into the dream.

 

He had entertained the idea of using Phil’s clumsiness to his advantage. Really, how much effort would it take to kill a man that decided to use his socked foot to move a pot on the stove? If he could just… dump a few things here and there, it wouldn’t be that difficult.

 

He had decided that it was probably a bad idea but he would sometimes touch a few things, with no real intent behind it. He’d tried to convince himself that he was just bored and that caused him to be childish towards Phil.

 

The night of the candle, he’d felt like they had had their first couple’s argument. Phil hadn’t been sure if he was being haunted, but just in case, he had expressed loud and clear that he wanted to have a long and happy life. After that, Dan had decided to stop messing with him and just keep him company.

 

It had all felt dark and pointless until _that_ day. He had felt it before he could even see it. A warm light surrounding Phil as he changed songs on his playlist. His soul had felt so much closer to Dan, but why?

 

Then, he’d seen it, a truck about to strike Phil at full speed. The light had been a clear indication that Phil would soon join him if he just... but he would never wish Phil such a horrible end, even if it meant that he would have to wait. He had pulled on Phi’s hood, trying to wrap his arms around him, but he was not corporeal, he could merely affect small things around him, so Phil had fallen to the ground in shock and clutched at his chest as the truck drove past him.

 

It was at that moment that he had decided to stay beside Phil to protect him until his time came. He would make sure to help him be as happy as possible.

 

Weeks later, Dan was right there, sitting on the couch beside Phil as he read the different theories people were sending him. Most of them were quite outrageous but Katie gave Phil a good tip.

 

With an excited smile, Phil took a brisk shower, brushed his teeth and spent too much time doing his hair. Just before he exited the bathroom, he put on perfume and checked that his breath was still fresh.

 

Dan found it amusing but also flattering that Phil was getting ready for him. He couldn’t wait to be able to finally talk to him.

 

Once they got into bed Phil tossed and turned for about an hour before finally falling asleep. As soon as his breath evened out, Dan touched Phil’s hand and was transported into the dream.

 

He was standing in a beautiful park on a sunny day, everything smelled fresh and a bit flowery. In the distance he saw Phil sitting by a huge tree, staring into a beautiful lake. He took a deep breath and started walking towards him. This time, there were no doors or black holes keeping him away.

 

Before he realized it, he was right next to Phil.

 

“Hi,” Dan smiled.

 

“Hi! Erm, sit. Would you like to eat something?”

 

Dan considered it as he plopped down beside him. He hadn’t eaten in a long time, he briefly wondered if that would work. “Yeah, what do you have?”

 

“Treacle tart and pumpkin juice, we are on Hogwarts grounds,” he explained as if that was not weird at all.

 

“Oh, right. Well let’s give it a try,” he said and instantly he had a plate of the tart, a fork  and a bottle of juice. “Thank you.”

 

“No problem. So, what’s your name?”

 

“Dan.”

 

“Nice to meet you, Dan. I’m Phil,” he said extending his hand for a shake.

 

Dan wasn’t a hand shaker usually, but he was not about to deny Phil. As soon as their hands touched they felt the warmth spreading through them.

 

“Oh wow,” Phil said in wonder. “Would you mind holding hands with me?”

 

“Please,” Dan said scooting closer to Phil and setting their joint hands on his leg.

 

“Are you haunting me?”

 

“Depends on what haunting means to you, I guess.”

 

Phil pursed his lips. “What does that mean?”

 

Dan sighed. “It means that I’m waiting for you?”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because you are my soulmate.”

 

“Yes! Finally! Where can we meet?”

 

“Here, in your dreams,” Dan said flatly.

 

Phil frowned. “Well, yes but wouldn’t you want to meet in real life?”

 

“I can’t. I’m sorry, Phil,” Dan said lowering his eyes and gently plucking bits of grass.

 

“Why not? Are you dating someone already?”

 

“No. I managed to die somehow and now I have to wait for you,” he finally said and looked into Phil’s eyes. They were blue, and green and yellow. Dan felt like he was drowning.

 

“Oh, no! That can’t be true. How can you be so sure?”

 

“A fucking Angel told me,” Dan said raising an eyebrow.

 

Phil paused for a moment and then asked: “Do you know how long do I have?”

 

“Decades…” Dan said looking away.

 

Phil’s eyes narrowed. “Did you tried to kill me?”

 

“Well, I didn’t _not_ try to kill you. I was mostly joking, Phil.”

 

“It wasn’t funny.”

 

“It totally was, you are like a baby giraffe.”

 

“You set my foot on fire!”

 

“Oh no, don’t blame that on _me_. That was all you.”

 

Phil huffed, Dan was impossible.

 

“What do we do now?”

 

“Now you live a happy life and I wait for you. Then, we can cross over together.”

 

“It’s not fair, I wanted to share my life with you!”

 

“You will, in a way. I’ll always be right there with you.”

 

“No, no. This is not what I wanted!”

 

“We can’t always have what we want. I died before I did anything of importance in my life.”

 

“I’m sorry. I’m making this all about myself.”

 

“It’s ok,” he said rubbing his thumb on Phil’s hand, “I know how much you wanted your happy ending.”

 

Phil sighed. “Would you kiss me every night in my dreams?”

 

“Yes, of course,” Dan smiled.

Phil smiled sadly but leaned in to kiss him nonetheless. They gasped with the intensity of the feelings flowing through them. Dan cupped Phil’s cheek and deepened the kiss, making him dizzy.

 

Suddenly, they were standing under the pouring rain but they continued kissing and smiling at how perfectly cheesy it all was. In the dream world, they could meet each other over and over again in different scenarios, but nothing would ever replace a life together.

 

Dan felt the pull, Phil was waking up and it was time to say goodbye for now.

 

“Phil, you have to go,” he said giving him a soft peck on the lips.

“No. NO!” Phil shouted and hugged Dan tight as if that would prevent invisible forces to take him away.

As items started to disappear before his eyes Dan felt a pull, but this time it was different.

 

“You are coming with me!” said Phil sounding like a two year old who has been denied some candy.

 

 _“Oh fine, have it your way.”_ It was Gabriel, but what could that mean?

 

“Dan!” Phil yelled as they were pulled away from each other.

 

\-------------

 

“Clear!”

 

Dan gasped and opened his eyes wide trying to make sense of anything that had just happened as his back arched with the electricity running through his system.

 

He looked around only for a moment and noticed he was surrounded by a crew of doctors and nurses.

 

“We have a pulse!” One of the doctors shouted.

 

Dan fell into unconsciousness, his body too exhausted to keep him awake.

 

When he came to again, he realized his mother was sleeping on a chair beside his bed. He was hooked to a heart monitor and an IV. His throat felt sore like he had a really bad case of the flu.

 

“Mum?” he croaked.

 

Karen woke up and rushed to his side. “My baby!” she cried over and over, petting his hair kissing all over his face.

 

“What happened?”

 

“ _You!_ Daniel James, walked into traffic and got hit by a taxi!”

 

“Oh… oops?”

 

“You were dead for two minutes! If you ever do something so stupid again I will revive you and kill you myself!

 

“Ok, ok. I … promise?”

 

“You better,” she huffed. “I’m going out for a moment I need to tell the rest of the family. We haven’t told Victoria the extent of your wounds for fear of losing her too!”

 

“Don’t tell her, please. Just tell nanna I love her and to come visit.”

 

“You will see her when your bruises fade a bit more.”

 

He looked down to his chest, it was covered in bruises. He moved his arms and legs a bit and winced in pain. “Ok,” he sighed.

 

As soon as the door closed behind her, someone else came into his room. It was a male nurse.

 

“May I clear your tray?” the man asked but made no move to grab it.

 

“Um, yes, I’m not even sure I can eat yet.”

 

“That bad?”

 

“I died, apparently.”

 

The man smiled. “Well it seems to be true, Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” he laughed at his own joke. “Do try to not die again, for like, at least another 57 years.”

 

Dan read his name tag and smiled: _Gabriel_. “I won’t, Gabriel. Take care.”

 

“Goodbye, Daniel,” he said and left, the tray laid forgotten exactly where it had been.

 

‘What a weird guy’ Dan thought. He was still a bit tired, maybe he should sleep some more.

 

\--------

 

Two months later, Dan kept shuffling his Spotify playlist over and over until he found the perfect song. He sighed happily and took only one step forward when he felt a pull on the back of his jacket and arms engulfing him in a tight hug.

 

“Oh my god!” Someone said as a truck drove right through where Dan had just been.

 

“Fuck!” He had almost done it again.

 

The man holding him, spun him around and looked right into his eyes. “Aren’t you the same guy that got hit by a taxi a few weeks ago? What do you have, a death wish?”

 

Dan frowned. “How do you know that?”

 

“I saw you, you waved at me from across the street and walked right in front of the car like a moron.”

 

“Maybe I just needed you to rescue me,” Dan smiled.

 

“That is the most stupid pick up line I’ve ever heard.”

 

“Is it working though?”

 

He smiled looking a bit exasperated. “This must be your lucky day, I have decided to rescue you from the streets where you will find a certain death and take you to Starbucks.”

“Oh, my knight in shining armour,” Dan said putting his hand on his chest. “I’m Dan,” he said extending his hand.

 

“Phil,” he answered. As soon as their hands touched, they felt the warmth spreading through them and smiled. _Finally_.

 

“I can’t have any caffeine, but I’ll order something else.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“I kind of died a bit… of a heart attack.”

 

“Why am I not surprised by that at all? Come on, then. I’ll have to keep checking that you don’t walk into a stupid death before I get to meet you properly. I can’t believe my soulmate is such a moron.”

 

As they started walking to the Starbucks around the corner, Dan linked their fingers together and squeezed Phil’s hand to get his attention. He stuck his tongue at him and said:  “I can’t believe my soulmate such a hero.”

 

“I’m not. I set my own foot on fire trying to move a pot on the stove last week, so don’t count on me being responsible for both of us.”

 

Dan could see that happening clearly in his mind and laughed. They would fit together straight away, like two halves of a whole idiot.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Tumblr: [Succubusphan](http://Succubusphan.tumblr.com/)
> 
> In case you wish to reblog the fic: [Tumblr Link](https://succubusphan.tumblr.com/post/183861760216/somebodys-watching-me/)
> 
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated!!!!


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